Put yourself on Gans senior running back Taeshawn Achan’s shoes. Last year, he missed most of the season with an injury.

“I injured my shoulder — it was messed up,” Achan said. “I messed up my wrist in the Oaks game. I also had to wait out Summer Pride because I didn’t get to practice during the first couple of weeks for the scrimmages because I had surgery on my foot during the first of summer. I didn’t get to play a lot that (2023) season, so, hopefully, I’ll get to play a lot this season.”

Now, he’s back doing what he loves, playing football. Take the homecoming game Sept. 20 against the Midway Chargers at Grizzly Field. Not only did the Grizzlies won, knocking off the Chargers 30-18, but he got to tote the football for the first time ever — scoring two touchdowns on runs of 49 and 59 yards.

“It was a pretty good game,” Achan said. “It was pretty special. It was the first win of the season. It was my first time to ever run the ball. It’s has meant a lot (getting back out on the gridiron).”

It even made for a more fun time that night’s win made it a happy homecoming for Gans.

“Last year’s homecoming wasn’t the best,” Achan said. “We lost. It didn’t feel very great. This year, it was pretty exciting and felt pretty good.”

The unfortunate thing for the Grizzlies is they have to wait until Thursday night to return to the football field. Last Friday night’s opponent, the Porum Panthers, had to drop football for this season due to not having enough players. However, the senior running back said last week’s bye week ended up being beneficial for them.

“It’s a little disappointing, but at the same time I guess it’s pretty decent,” Achan said. “We get more practices and less injuries. We’ll be more prepared for Cave Springs (Thursday night).

However, Achan said the homecoming win over Midway has created some nice momentum for the Grizzlies.

“It brings up the morale,” he said. “One of the biggest problems we’ve had with our team is we’ve had pretty low morale the past few years not winning and everything. This first win, I feel like it’s brought up the morale pretty good. A lot of people are excited for this season a lot more (than in past seasons).”

The Grizzlies hired former Muldrow assistant coach Gary Hixon to take over the program. Achan said what the new coach has done for the football team has already made the Grizzlies better.

“He’s been pretty good overall,” Achan said. “He’s brought more discipline. The ‘Code of Conduct’ that we have is pretty good. People actually get punished for not showing up or not doing what they’re supposed to do. It’s been pretty good. It’s been a pretty good adjustment. It’s keeping people who really want to play football on the football team. I feel pretty good about that.”